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Need to know about Flightless Flies/Maggots

AnimlEnthusiast

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[I'm sorry if someone else has already posted this exact question, but I didn't see quite what I'm looking for.]

I need to know what species of flightless flies are available. (I am not talking about fruit flies, because those are too small.) I am considering starting some type of fly culture, because I know many of my pets would enjoy eating maggots, and flies seem to be extremely fast breeders of many offspring.

Quite honestly, the idea of this grosses me out! But, I would be will to do this anyway, if I can find something that matches what I am looking for. Specifically, I am looking for a type of fly that is flightless, is preferably less smelly or germy, and that produces maggots the size of a housefly or larger. -- What fly species fit into those parameters, and where would I be able to purchase some flies (or maggots) to start my culture?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

On a side note, I'm curious: would axolotls be interested in a food of that type (maggots)?
 

asfouts

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It has been a while since I posted here


If I am not mistaken the availability of any other fly as a culture method is virtually non-existent. I believe, and this is just conjecture, that it has to do with the food source of most flies. Most flies lay eggs on food sources that would not be appealing to keep, in example: feces, rotting corpses, and the fruits of exotic plants. I am not entirely sure if you can get your hands on these flies, but the flies used for maggot therapy by hospitals are green bottle flies (which is actually a name applied to multiple blowfly species). You would have to keep a culture of dead tissue, but it may just work. I didn't catch where you're from but they are really common over here in Washington. Also, most maggots have a high fat content, meaning they float. May be difficult to feed to an axolotl unless he is tweezer trained.


Also it should be noted that wild caught cultures should go through many generations before being used in your home as you do not want to introduce foreign parasites to your animals, and the culture should be sterile. Also flightless gene is more common than you may think in the wild so breeding 100% flightless flies wouldn't be hard to do if you had to. I think for fruitflies (Drosophila melanogaster) it's something crazy like 36% offspring of two heterozygous individuals. It's been too long since I took genetics though so I can't remember.
 
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AnimlEnthusiast

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Thanks for replying. I was looking for something that didn't involve anything gross. Also, I am looking for a type of fly that does not fly, and is approximately the same size as a housefly (or a little larger). (I don't care if it has wings or not, so long as it does not fly.)

Thanks for telling me about fattier foods sometimes floating. I would be either tweezer feeding or hand feeding some food types (anything that floats).

It has been a while since I posted here


If I am not mistaken the availability of any other fly as a culture method is virtually non-existent. I believe, and this is just conjecture, that it has to do with the food source of most flies. Most flies lay eggs on food sources that would not be appealing to keep, in example: feces, rotting corpses, and the fruits of exotic plants. I am not entirely sure if you can get your hands on these flies, but the flies used for maggot therapy by hospitals are green bottle flies (which is actually a name applied to multiple blowfly species). You would have to keep a culture of dead tissue, but it may just work. I didn't catch where you're from but they are really common over here in Washington. Also, most maggots have a high fat content, meaning they float. May be difficult to feed to an axolotl unless he is tweezer trained.


Also it should be noted that wild caught cultures should go through many generations before being used in your home as you do not want to introduce foreign parasites to your animals, and the culture should be sterile. Also flightless gene is more common than you may think in the wild so breeding 100% flightless flies wouldn't be hard to do if you had to. I think for fruitflies (Drosophila melanogaster) it's something crazy like 36% offspring of two heterozygous individuals. It's been too long since I took genetics though so I can't remember.
 

Jennewt

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Do you know their scientific name?

There was some buzz years ago that someone had developed a flightless house fly, but I haven't seen anything about them recently. Here is an old post from dendroboard:
What ever happend the the new "wingless HOUSE flies&quo - Dendroboard

Here is a supplier for house fly larvae, if that helps.
Feeders & Supplies - Mantis Pets - Home of the Praying Mantis

If you want maggots, it sure seems a lot easier to buy them than to grow them.
 

AnimlEnthusiast

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